Lady Bug Tent

Roughing it. Surviving the elements. Exploring the great outdoors. Some might refer to it as camping. Whatever you want to call it, Cooper had his first taste of it the other night. Yes, Coop and his Dad took a little camping trip………………to our screened-in porch.

One of Cooper’s favorite tv shows; Ni Hao Kai-Lan, has a campout episode with a Lady Bug Tent. Cooper loves this episode so we thought we’d bring it to life. Yes, once again I’m drawing attention to the fact that our son’s life tends to revolve around Nick Jr cartoons. I will say that it has given Coop quite the imagination. Cooper LOVES his ‘Lady Bug Tent’.

We started off the Camping Adventure with our normal bedtime routine of bath, story and then bed. The only difference was bed was in the tent. It took Coop awhile to comprehend that bed was actually going to take place IN the Lady Bug Tent. The campout began with story time then Mom tucked Coop and Dad in and said good night. Notice how Mom didn’t volunteer to participate in Coop’s 1st Campout. I decided it was a perfect Daddy-Son bonding moment. (Translation: Big Mama values her sleep waaaaaay too much these days and selfishly wasn’t willing to sacrifice a good night’s sleep).

It did take a couple of hours for Cooper to settle down and realize that people actually SLEEP in tents. Dad had the pleasure of spending these hours trying to convince Cooper that sleeping was a good thing. I must admit that I had Cooper’s room prepared for a middle of the night early return from camping and doubted that he’d actually last through the night. Much to my surprise, Cooper MADE IT. He survived the elements of our screened in porch thanks to his Lady Bug Tent. Do I think he’s ready to re-enact an episode of Survivor Man? Not just yet. But he’s well on his way.

The Campsite and Cooper's Lady Bug Tent

Kokanee was excited to campout too. Sadly, she got the boot because she wasn't helping in the going to sleep department one bit.

I can’t wait for our future family camping adventures. Who knows, maybe we’ll even explore beyond our front porch. I also think a bigger tent is in order.